Skip to main content

Member Reviews

Just what the Doctor Ordered by Amanda Nelson and Lisa-Marie Potter is the second book in the “Plus One” series. It can be read as a stand alone as the company is the main connector between the two books.

Autumn is university student studying a bachelor of Nursing degree. To help pay the bills Autumn works for plus one as a companion. It’s not an escort agency, this is a business where gentlemen can hire Autumn to accompany them to functions where the invitation says to bring a plus one and they don’t have one. She has been badly burned by a previous boyfriend and has vowed not to date seriously until she has her degree.

Jensen is a Paediatric doctor who has just won a best doctor award and needs to bring a ‘plus one’ to the award ceremony. The main hitch for him attending is that his ex-girlfriend is attending with her new doctor boyfriend; everyone know a she was cheating on Jensen before she made the jump. Jensen is not interested in dating, but needs her to think he’s moved on. His friend, Molly, used the plus one service in the first book for a male companion, so she sets Jensen up with Autumn.

The scene is set for romance.

The two of them are instantly attracted to each other, neither of them are looking for love but the chemistry is definitely front and centre. They pull off the award night and then there are a few more hired dates, and a few hurdles to overcome, before they succumb to the inevitable, admit their true feelings and finally get their happy ever after.

This was a beautiful romance and I loved the main characters, both had had bad experiences with love in the past, hence some trust issues, so even though the attraction was strong they resisted Insta-love and allowed their friendship side of the relationship to develop first. Sure there was a hiccup but all went well in the end.

Was this review helpful?

✨ I was able to get an ARC from NetGalley, thank you for the opportunity! ✨

This is an honest review, I’ll avoid any major spoilers but as a starting point, I will admit I struggled with this one. I was very close to DNF’ing it but I wanted to see it through to give a review that could be used.

I did not most of the characters in this book and the ones I did were minor roles. I think that I struggled most with the lack of depth plot wise, it felt very shallow, the chemistry between the main characters forced and Jensen frustrated me constantly with his pushing for more even after Autumn was clear about her expectations. Hems constant pushing for more emotionally and physically which gave me the vibes a guy who is describes as a good guy so he gets away with being a creep. Autumn is hired to fill a role and Jensen cannot differentiate between reality and their cover story.

Besides that, there was very little character development, both main characters acted very childish with the obstacles placed in their way as individuals and their ongoing relationship.

Overall I rated it a 2.5 ⭐️ read and it would not be on the top of my book recs list

Was this review helpful?

I was provided an ARC for review. I thought this story was cute and with roots in the medical field. The MMC, Jensen, is a doctor and the FMC, Autumn, is a nursing student. They meet through her side job as a companion. While this story was well written and fast paced, it was missing something to make it really compelling and make you invested in the story. The back history for Autumn’s motto for no men before BSN fell flat for me, but overall still a cute, quickly easy read.

Was this review helpful?

Jensen’s date for the best doctors in Seattle ceremony cancelled on him at the last minute and hired a “Plus One” companion to replace her at the dinner. Knowing his gloating ex-girlfriend, Kayla, will be at the dinner and not wanting to show up dateless, he accepts. Autumn accompanies Jensen to the dinner posing as his girlfriend. And what starts as a simple business arrangement soon turns into much more. Both feel sparks fly as they spend time together and both are afraid to acknowledge it until it becomes too much to ignore. This was a well written, clean rom com with a somewhat predictable plot, but with enough nuances thrown in to make it an unputdownable read. In fact the sun was setting as I finished reading while enjoying the summer evening at the lake. 4.5 stars rounded to 5 Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

2.5 stars
This was a cute hallmark type story and whilst it did have a fun storyline that felt different to other stories l've read I didn't love it. I am not a fan of the Insta love and just felt a bit boring to me. It was a well written book and I do love a good fake dating storyline however it just felt like a very long and unnecessarily drawn out.

Was this review helpful?

Just What the Doctor Hired is a fake-dating romance between Autumn, a nursing student working for a companion service, and Jensen, a paediatric doctor looking to protect his reputation. Their chemistry is strong, and the story includes some sweet and steamy moments as their relationship develops.

Jensen is a thoughtful and determined character, while Autumn brings emotional depth with her vulnerability and growth. One downside was the character Lily, whose actions felt more hurtful than supportive and some points made reading the book hard.

Overall, a solid romance with engaging characters and tension-filled moments.

Was this review helpful?

Unfortunately, this one wasn’t the right fit for me. I really enjoy medical romance (there needs to be more of it!), fake dating tropes, and was excited by the “plus one” premise, but I struggled to connect with the pacing and characters. Much of the early story was spent planning logistics and delivering backstory through extended dialogue, which made it hard for me to invest in the romance itself.

While I appreciated some of the setup and the effort to ground the dynamic in emotional realism, I ultimately didn’t feel the chemistry or forward momentum I was hoping for.

Was this review helpful?

I loved this book. It had romance, great family relationships and examples of supportive friendships. A real weaving together of strands and a bit of hospital visiting and issues to add a bit of flavour. Jensen is a gorgeous doctor, but is hung up and wary after being dumped and becoming the subject of the hospital gossip. This leaves him in a hard place emotionally when he meets Autumn through an escort service. Autumn is lovely - fiesty, knowing her own worth and the author gives her a real voice and personality and a great one at that. The relationships are slowly exposed over the book and what came out strongly to me was the amazing bond Autumn had with her two dads and how great they were as a couple too.

Was this review helpful?

A companion (paid date, not escort) meets the perfect guy on one of her jobs who reciprocates her feelings. It's such a cliche: the nursing student dating the doctor but I admire the FMC for trying to keep her relationship professional and for putting herself first with her "no men before her BSN" mantra after a bad previous relationship. I did feel like this was a bit wordier than needed. It was a cute read with a guaranteed HEA.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and am writing this review voluntarily.

Was this review helpful?

I really loved this book so much. It gave me exactly what I wanted. I couldn’t stop smiling while reading. Autumn and Jensen are both amazing characters. I connected with Autumn right away, she felt so real to me. And Jensen was just perfect. What I liked most was the banter between them. It was so funny and natural, I was laughing out loud a few times. Also, the tension was chef’s kiss.
Also, I liked the hospital setting. Everything felt real but not heavy. This book is great if you want something light and romantic but with enough depth to keep you hooked. Thank you so much to the author and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read the book in advance, I received this for free and I'm leaving a honest review

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to NetGalley and Wild Rose Press for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader Copy of Just What The Doctor Hired by Lisa Marie Potter and Amanda Nelson in exchange for an honest review.
I’m feeling confused and a little guilty after reading all the positive reviews, but this book just didn’t do it for me. I LOVE romance and romcoms, especially fake-dating AND medical backdrops, but this book felt like a miss for me.

I’ll start with things I liked:
The chemistry was fairly entertaining, Jensen was a likable guy and I enjoyed him as the main male character, it was fun to be in Seattle, and I really liked Autumn’s dads. I do think I liked the first half of the book a lot more— it felt like it flowed more and was more enticing.

Things I struggled with:
- The medical aspect: I am a pediatric nurse in a pediatric hospital, and there were so many inaccuracies that made it hard for me to grasp any other part of the book. Such as, something as simple as discussing diabetes and calling the A1c the I1c, or getting symptoms for appendicitis and the way it presents completely wrong. These could’ve easily been quick googles, but the medical inaccuracies were difficult for me to get past. It didn’t need to be detailed in any way, but just simply accurate would’ve been appreciated. Also, a doctor taking massive gifts from his patients— there were about a dozen violations in there that we just ignored.
- The nursing school part: Yes, nursing school is super duper hard. I got my BSN as well, and SURE the program made me feel like I was losing my mind. BUT her dumb mantra of “No men until my BSN,” and then the way that her friend supported her in this (even guilted her into it at times), even though it was clearly making Autumn miserable, was really cringey and exhausting. She really liked this guy, and couldn’t see past her dumb mantra to realize he was different than a loser from years ago?? That was beyond exhausting.
- I didn’t quite understand what he saw in her. She felt two-dimensional to me— her entire personality was nursing school and NOT DATING MEN UNTIL HER BSN.
- The ending and how the conflict was resolved felt like a struggle to me. He didn’t deserve to be slapped, he didn’t deserve to be embarrassed in front of all of his bosses, and then he didn’t deserve for every person in his life to make him feel bad about it and keep emphasizing how he lost this “amazing and perfect woman” (a woman everyone had met approximately once and was acting during the entire interaction). Sure, he put his foot in his mouth, but her reaction and everyone else’s behavior that followed was over-the-top. And then he agonized over getting her back. Things just didn’t add up for me.
-
A combination of these things and the lack of character development made this a tough read for me. I wish I could’ve enjoyed it like the other reviewers did, but it just didn’t hit the same way for me. I’m sorry!

Was this review helpful?

When I say I devoured this book, I mean I couldn’t put it down until I finished it. I think this might be in my top 5 reads for the year so far.

Just What the Doctor Hired is a romance novel about a nursing student (Autumn) and a doctor (Jensen). Autumn is paying for her schooling by working for a companion service, being paid to go on dates. Jensen hires Autumn for a date to get his family and friends off his back. The two have chemistry from the beginning but both have doubts about starting a relationship. I loved all the main characters of this book and just couldn’t put it down after I started reading.

I’d rate this book 5/5 stars ⭐️

Just What the Doctor Hired releases July 9th! This book is the second in a duology, but can be read as a standalone. I haven’t read book one yet but it’s now in my tbr! 🤗

Was this review helpful?

I simply LOVE books with characters who have this profession, so it was obvious that I would love this book. Charming is the word that best describes it. I got emotional in many scenes.

Was this review helpful?

The plot is well-structured, and the pace is ideal for the story. The characters are likable and have a lot of depth. I've been a lifelong fan of Grey's Anatomy, and I loved this book! I was cheering for them the entire time, and it was an easy, uplifting book that made me smile several times.

Was this review helpful?

Just What the Doctor Hired is such a fun and feel-good read! Amanda Nelson and Lisa-Marie Potter do a great job blending humor, heart, and just the right amount of romance. The chemistry between the characters feels real, and watching their relationship grow is both sweet and satisfying. If you're in the mood for a light, charming love story with genuine emotion, this one's worth picking up.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to netgalley for providing this arc!
4⭐️

I really really enjoyed this book! I liked both our fmc Autumn and our mmc Jensen as individuals, and I think together they were a great match. I thought that both autumn and Jensen communicated really well, they spoke honestly with eachother about their feelings consistently throughout, which conveyed them to be both mature and emotionally intelligent, which was a breath of fresh air considering miscommunication is common in a lot of romance books!

In addition to this, I thought that their chemistry was there from the very beginning, their playful and flirty personalities matched really well from the moment they began their back and forth in the bar where they met. This chemistry continued throughout the story, and became utterly sweet and romantic when they spent time together (both on their fake dates and real ones) and I kept blushing at their wholesome and romantic interactions.

Honourable mention to Jensen as our mmc, he was down bad for Autumn from the moment he laid eyes on her, and thought of every opportunity to spend time with her and be the perfect gentleman, which was so sweet.

I thought the pacing of the story was just right, and I really enjoyed the presence of all of the side characters in this story. From the doctors at the hospital, to Autumn’s dads and Jensen’s friends, I thought they added to the story and made it more enjoyable (apart from Lily!)

The only thing that I didn’t enjoy about this book was the third act conflict. Firstly, I thought that the conflict shouldn’t have occurred the way that it did, I thought that Josh reappearing and being the cause of the conflict was clever, but the fallout with Jensen and Autumn was unnecessary.

Personally, I interpreted Jensen’s response to the revelation as a means to protect his and Autumn’s former arrangement, rather than him being discriminatory to Autumn and her previous job. And so I thought that Autumn pushing him for answers in front of his peers was unnecessary and out of character for her, and that they both could’ve left the room and discussed the matter privately, especially considering the whole way throughout the rest of the book they displayed such maturity with handling their emotions, so I thought this fallout was unnecessary and out of character. I also felt like everyone’s reaction was exaggerated, and Jensen was made out to be someone who he had already proved he wasn’t.

Finally I did not like Lily as a side character, in my opinion, it’s fine to be a protective best friend but I thought that she was a very narrow minded best friend to Autumn for many reasons; she continued to remind Autumn of her past heartache as a way to convince her not to give her true feelings a chance, despite Jensen and Matteo not being comparable at all, she also never cared enough to even ask any questions about Jensen as a person or how he treated Autumn, because she was so set in her own ways that Autumn should not date until after her BSN. There wasn’t a turnaround of this attitude either, she was just adamant that Autumn should reject Jensen, despite never interacting with him, and this never changed.

Up until the point of the third act conflict, this book was sitting at a 4.5 stars for me, but unfortunately the fallout of it and the way it was handled between the characters brought the rating down slightly, I appreciate that a conflict was necessary for this story, but I would’ve liked to have seen Autumn and Jensen resolve this together rather than break up completely.

Despite this, I really really enjoyed this book as a whole, and I loved Autumn and Jensen together from the outset. 99% of the characters were a joy to read about and definitely added to this story which I was grateful for. I will definitely be picking up a physical copy of this book when it comes out, and would love to read more from this cowriting duo in the future!

Thank you again to Netgalley for providing an arc of this!

Was this review helpful?

First of all, thank You Netgalley and Pubisher for the ARC granted to me. This book was a cute cliche fake dating trope setting in hospital ambiance lighthearted and cozy vibes to read. I loved the narrative and it was my first touch with the author.

Was this review helpful?

This was a cute rom com. I did like the premise of this book, I really did. However, I did not like the installs/love between them. Since they were lusting over each other from the start it wasn't really a build up over their relationship. Other than that I really loved it.

Was this review helpful?

After reading several romances I was in the mood for another. I found this on NetGalley and was very excited for a medical oriented romance.

I’d never read these authors before but was happily surprised by this book!

Autumn is a nursing student and she’s got one year left in her program. She and her best friend have made a pact "no men before BSN" so they aren’t trying to meet anyone. Autumn works two jobs trying to make ends meet and is studying for her nursing program. She works at Plus One as a companion and also in a toll booth.

After being dumped by another employee at the hospital, Jensen signs up for Plus One to find a date to his medical awards ceremony. His break up was the talk of the whole hospital and he doesn’t want to show up solo to his big event.

Autumn fills in as his companion for the ceremony and plays his girlfriend. She’s strict about the contract for her role which means no sex, and physical touch only to sell their relationship when playing their parts. She’s surprised though by how much she enjoys his company and how attractive she finds him. I loved this book and Jensen and Autumn had such good flirting and banter. I enjoyed the medical aspect as someone in the healthcare field though it was quite a small part.

These two made for such a cute couple and I loved watching their story unfold. I’m not a huge fan of the third act break up but I still was a big fan of this book. Autumns dads were great characters!!

Was this review helpful?

This was a really great read. The characters were well defined and multi layered. I know it’s probably not something most people review about but the editing was fantastic as well. I hate reading books where I find myself mentally correcting spelling and grammar errors. Anyway, this was a very fun read and I would definitely recommend it to my friends. 4.75 stars ⭐️

Was this review helpful?